


Markless

by skyoung200



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Asshole Grisha Yeager, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poor Eren Yeager, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Soulmates, ereri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-15 12:45:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8056924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyoung200/pseuds/skyoung200
Summary: Marks are what ties everyone to their soulmate and each and every person has a mark that matches to someone else’s, tying them together. These Marks guarantee there is someone out there for you, that you won’t be alone. But of course not everyone gets to so easily find their soulmate. Levi never asked to be a markless freak for the first years of his life and Eren never asked to be diagnosed with a rare condition where his Mark was completely fucked up. But fate works in weird ways.





	1. Chapter 1

            Marks are what ties everyone to their soulmate. They’re living, breathing, growing marks. These marks are all extremely unique and special for each person. They always start small and you always have them. The marks are visual representations of your soulmate and their life. As your soulmates life changes the mark will change and grow to represent everything happening to them. You can never really feel them move or grow but it’s always moving, breathing in time with your soul mate. They come in all colors and shapes and change often to fit your soul mate. Something in the mark will always match your soulmates so you can find the person that matches you. Many marks are prized for their stunning beauty and detail, but the mark won’t stay beautiful forever.  The mark will freeze in place and turn black and white once your soulmate dies.

             Since these marks are so unique, it can sometimes be hard for people to naturally find their soulmates without assistance. There have been many companies established to work hard at getting everyone to meet their matching mark. They analyze marks for any signs of where the person could be and compare the unique marks across all their data bases to see if any of the details of the marks match someone else’s. The matching piece of marks could be tiny so it’s very hard to find matches. It is made more difficult by the fact that they only have the marks of people who have come to their companies and had their marks added to the large data base they have. Many people find their matches this way and they also help people understand what the mark means. Sometimes the mark can be muddled and hard to understand so there are professionals who can read and organize the marks. It takes specialized training and years of work to learn how to do this and it is a very difficult job to get, but these companies were incredibly popular. These companies provide many services but a few more conservative businesses refuse to help the markless.

             The markless are those born without marks. It’s possible to be born without a mark, but it is incredibly rare. In many cases a mark will never appear if it did not appear at birth. In certain cases, the markless person’s soulmate will be born a few years later than them and a mark will begin to appear and grow. On the other person a large mark will already be there to show their mate is much older. This situation is incredibly rare and these mates tend never to meet each other or are restricted from being together due to the age gap. These cases are rare but tragic due to the separation and isolation the soulmates are faced with.  

             People without marks were often alienated and shunned. Marks are a highly personal thing so many people wouldn’t show them off, but not having a mark is hard to hide it. Once people discover someone is markless, bullying and cruelty is common. These people are often outcasts of society and could rarely get through school let alone make it out in the world independently. Suicide rates are incredibly high for those without marks. There are also high homicide rates due to radicals believing people without marks aren’t meant to be alive because they don’t have a mate. These radicals are violent and are incredibly organized and no one ever really tries to stop them because people never want to defend the markless. This terrible violence has continued for years until a rare few businesses began to hire markless to work in mark matching companies. These companies claimed that the markless could still help others find their soulmates even if they didn’t have their own. This slowed some of the violence but there is still discrimination that many markless have to face.

 

* * *

 

           

             Levi hated school. He hated everyone in the school with maybe a few exceptions he would never willingly admit to out loud. He slammed his locker shut and made his way quickly down the hall trying to get out of the school before anyone had the chance to irritate him further. The bullying had ended earlier in his sixth grade year when he snapped and beat the living shit out of the brats who teased him about being markless since they had first found out in elementary school. It had only been a month or two since the incident, but the bullies had been scared off. Never the less the shit stains would get brave and harass Levi once and a while to piss him off. So he rushed from the school ignoring the shouts of his name from the people who considered themselves his friends. Once he was about a block away from the school he stopped and braced himself as an excited Isabelle and Hanji crashed into him and crushed him in a tight hug. Farlan walked up a lot more calmly and chuckled as Levi got squished by their two friends. Levi grumbled and shoved Isabelle and Hanji away from himself. “Get off me.” He said gruffly and turned from the group to start walking again. 

            “Don’t be so grumpy Levi! It’s finally spring break and we’ve got plans to spend time together you should be excited!” Isabelle shouted in an overly eager voice and started following behind Levi with a bright smile not deterred by the angry behavior at all. Hanji cackled and fell back to walk with Farlan. They chuckled and followed after their friends talking quietly to each other about their own days having faith that the excitable red-head would be able to talk Levi into joining their week long plans.

            Levi sighed heavily and kept walking away. “We don’t have plans. I told you I didn’t want to be involved in your childish sleep over so just leave me out of it.” He grumbled and readjusted his backpack trying to give Isabelle his best glare so she’d take him seriously.

            Of course, as usual she shrugged it off and skipped ahead of Levi to walk backwards and face him as she spoke. “I know you said you didn’t want to come but I think you should come and let us work on finding out more about your Mark or lack thereof. We just want to help you find a way to get one Levi.” Isabelle spoke softer with every word and gave Levi her best puppy eyes hoping it would guilt him into joining in on their plans. They really did just want to help him. The whole group, except for Levi, had been researching about finding marks on those who thought they were markless. There were many new studies every year and the group made it a habit to force Levi into at least considering some of them once in a while. They knew how miserable he was being markless and feeling alone so they tried their best to help but it was hard when Levi always denied getting any help and refused to take any of their advice seriously. Hanji and Farlan listened in but they didn’t say anything knowing how Levi hated being confronted about his marklessness. They held their breath and waited for Levi to throw a fit or run off.

            Levi stopped walking and looked down at his feet, a heavy sigh shaking his frame. “Fine. You know what, if it makes you fucking happy and gets you all to leave me alone fucking fine.” He said sternly and kept his head down. Secretly he had always wanted for his friends to find a solution to his problem, but he never let himself have any hope. He had gotten used to the idea of being alone forever. Even though he was young, being markless meant growing up and facing a harsh reality quick. He didn’t like his friends trying to change those plans but he was tired of constantly denying them. He didn’t have the energy to fight his friends, who would force him along whether he agreed or not, so this time he figured he’d go along willingly and see where that got him.

            Isabelle jumped up and fist pumped in the air shouting happily. Hanji joined in and the two danced around just happy that maybe they could finally get their friend willing to get help. Farlan chuckled as Levi face palmed trying to ignore his weird ass friends. “Thank you for going along with our plans.” Farlan says softly and sets a hand on Levi’s shoulder stepping closer.

            Levi shrugged and looked up as he pushed Farlan’s hand from his shoulder to start walking down the street. Farlan sighed but started to push a still excited Isabelle and Hanji after Levi so he couldn’t skip out and go back on his words at the last second. Levi walked quickly to his uncle’s house forcing his friends to stay outside while he packed a bag of clothes and some necessities for the week. His uncle never really minded when he left the house and was with friends so he didn’t feel the need to tell his uncle where he was going. When he came back outside with his bags, the three brats were laying on the grass watching clouds and pointing out shapes. Levi let himself smile a little while they weren’t paying attention. These three idiots were wrecking his plans of loneliness but he didn’t mind too much knowing that they would all find their mates and leave him eventually. Levi forced his face back to something bland and grumpy and yelled across the yard. “Get up you dirty pieces of shit. You all need to bathe.” He grunted and started walking towards Hanji’s house ignoring the loud giggling from behind him.

            It didn’t take long for them to all get their stuff and settle into Farlan’s room. They put all their bags away having assigned spots and places for all their things due to the frequency of the visits the friends made to each other. Levi laid down on Farlan’s bed letting himself look around the room taking in all the familiar band posters covering the light blue walls and white ceiling. The other three sat on the floor pulling out laptops and recent book finds from the library and started chatting about their marks and how they had all been progressing.

            Isabelle and Farlan’s marks had been steadily growing across their arms and shoulders and had recently started shifting across their collar bones. The two were close as can be and it really wasn’t all that shocking when they starting noticing just how similar their marks were. They both had a steady growth of vines with full blooming flowers and an array of green shades shifting across their arms and shoulders. At times it seemed the vines were shifting in and out of shade and they never seemed to still, always shifting in a nonexistent wind. They both also had a small simple bird that seemed to grow but stay just as simple on the inside of their left wrists. The newer section of their mark that was spilling onto their collar bones was a dark patch of purples and blues but it was covered in white speckles almost like freckles. It was practically the night sky across their chests and the two enjoyed star gazing together so it only made sense to be part of their mark. The two were no longer shy about sharing their marks and could often be found tracing the bird on each other’s wrists.

            Hanji’s mark was covering her entire stomach and her entire left side. It was of the inside of a room that appeared to be one straight out of an old falling apart castle that was somehow still inhabited. The windows were much more open and arching allowing for a clear view to the outside world which was full of rolling hills and in the far off distance the beginning of a forest.  The room itself was covered in pillows and various silks and fabrics hung from the walls and ceilings. Hanji had found after observing her mark for ages that as her soulmates mood changed the weather outside of the room would change. Of course this was still more of a guess because she hasn’t found her soul mate yet but Hanji had done too much research not to know what her own mark meant. The fabrics inside the room also changed frequently changing in color and size and shape. Hanji would also often see small pure white foxes running around in the room full of pillows just playing around relaxing. On top of that sometimes there are deer and doe running around outside the room grazing on the lush fields.

            The trio sat on the floor happily chatting away about their marks. They showed each other little parts but nothing much because even with friends this close, marks were very private. They still liked talking about them though and giggled over the moving marks and talked about what they thought their own marks looked like on their soulmates.

Levi shifted uncomfortably and rolled over to face away from them all. He felt an ache of loneliness in his chest when his friends talked about their marks like they were their entire world and nothing else mattered but that beautiful and ever shifting mark. He sighed and curled up in the blankets on the bed, shutting his eyes and tuning out his friends made it easy for Levi to drift into a light sleep.

            It wasn’t until it was about eight o’clock at night that any of the three friends dared to try and wake Levi. When they did dare to poke and prod him gently into consciousness they brought peace offerings of tea and dinner. They let him eat and drink his tea while they all demolished their own piles of food. After Levi was a little more awake he talked with his friends about simple things like homework and teachers. Levi of course helped with the dished claiming that the others were dirty savages who couldn’t wash plates properly. After helping cleaning the group settled back down in Farlan’s room but Levi felt gross, like he was covered in sweat from his nap. He said something quiet to his friends about being disgusting and needing to clean off and they let him already used to his clean freak habits. He took his bag to the bathroom while his friends plotted more about his mark talking quietly so Levi wouldn’t overhear any of their plots. He took his time in the shower fully scrubbing himself. He heaved a sigh when no mark was to be found on his body where he could see so he got out of the shower quickly just throwing on his boxers and a comfy pair of pants. He felt comfortable enough around his friends to not tug on a t-shirt. He knew they’d want to check on his back for a mark anyways so a shirt was pointless.

            When he walked into the room Hanji was absorbed in a book and Isabelle was chatting away about how marks could be forced to be shown by some strange combinations of chemicals that made Levi cringe as he sat down on the floor with his friends just letting them talk to each other. Isabelle turned to him and smiled. “So Levi, has your Mark appeared yet?” she asked softly wanting Levi to be more comfortable so he didn’t regret his choice to join in willingly for once.

            Levi shrugged and shook his head. “I haven’t seen it so unless it’s on my back, no my mark has not shown up.” He grumbles the words and hunches over on himself feeling three sets of eyes raking over his body to see if he’s telling the truth. Isabelle bounces where she sits clearly eager to look on Levi’s back knowing exactly what to look for but she waited for Levi to relax some from their stares and turn around on his own.

            “Levi lemme see your back.” She smiles and bounces more as Levi turns around with her poking. Levi’s pale back is turned on his three friends and he isn’t expecting much but when all he hears is silence his worry grows.

            Levi tries to shift but Isabelle’s hand stills him. “What? Why are you all quiet? Is there a shit stain on my back from something on the floor?” He asks trying and failing to hide his nervousness as his voice shakes a little. “It’s not like it’s my mark or anything.” When Levi’s comment is met with silence his worry doubles and he tries to crush any growing hope that threatened to rise up. “Right? Someone tell me.” Levi demands cooly.

            The next thing Levi knows all three of his friends have launched forward tackling him down to the bottom of a dog pile kind of hug. He grunts and groans in protest causing them to move off of him suddenly breaking out in a mess of words and maybe a few tears from Isabelle. Levi turns to them now even more confused and once they all manage to stop trying to speak all at once Isabelle says clearly with a bright smile that spreads from ear to ear. “Your mark. It’s there. It’s on your back!!” She cheers in joy and hugs a Levi that’s frozen in shock.

            Levi’s heart is slamming against his ribcage and he hasn’t heard anything the people around him are saying because he can feel it. No matter how small Levi can feel the small mark moving. He only feels it for a fleeting second before its gone and he shoots up off the floor running to the bathroom. He pants heavily looking over his shoulder into the mirror as his friends followed after. He panicked when the feeling left having thought he lost his mark as quickly as he got it but to his relief the small mark on his lower back was still there. The small white rose bud was the most beautiful thing Levi had ever seen. He watched the small bud sway and seem to breathe. It was settled on his lower back right on his spine. It was small and pale and nothing impressive but Levi never wanted it to leave. He nearly screamed as it bloomed open into a large white rose. He watched in amazement as the rose came to full bloom becoming more beautiful.

            Levi hadn’t noticed the tears running down his cheeks until Hanji gently hugged him and wiped his face. Levi turned to face his friends and quickly yanked them into a hug so they couldn’t see his face in his moment of weakness. They held him tight and hugged him until he relaxed and stepped back from the embrace ready to look at the mark again.

            When he looked over his shoulder the mark had settled nicely and was moving normally as any other mark would. He shivered and wondered what his mark looked like on his mate. He wondered if his mark would ever grow or if it would move anywhere else on his body so it was easier to see. He ran a hand along his back awkwardly due to the angle and the skin felt no different but it was so strange to see the mark he was sure would never appear there staining his skin oh so wonderfully.

            Isabelle giggled and smiled brightly. “I told you it would show up. Oh and Farlan you owe me thirty bucks. I knew he would cry.” She laughs at Farlan’s responding groan and Hanji joins in laughing loudly.

            Levi just looked mildly insulted. “You made bets on whether or not I would cry?” He asks turning his attention back to his friends who all looked a little guilty until Levi gave a soft smile. “Next time include me in your bets. I’ll enjoy taking all your money.” Instantly they all smiled and loosened up.

            The rest of the night went well. Levi let his friends teach him about marks and his head was filled with useless facts by the end of the night. Levi spent a lot of the night in a daze with his hand on his back gently rubbing the mark where it shifted. He was so shocked that he wouldn’t be alone. He had a purpose. He wasn’t fated to be an outcast and a loner anymore. His soulmate was somewhere with his mark that surely wasn’t as beautiful but he was sure the person that had his mark had to be beautiful. He wondered when he would meet this person. What would they be like? Would they even like Levi and his terrible personality? His mind was reeling with questions that there were no answers for so he focused on his friends tuning his own mind out.


	2. Chapter 2

Eren was six years old when his Mark first appeared.

            He had been declared markless when he was born and it was assumed his soulmate was going to be born much later and they’d be separated by an age gap.

            What no one expected was for Eren to have a rare condition where the Mark had a massive delay in change and appearance and could often be felt moving by the Mark bearer. This condition caused both soulmates marks to appear late often causing the older soulmate, that does not have the condition, to believe their soulmate was born late and will be separated from them due to an age gap much larger than it truly is. The soulmate with the condition will have a much larger more developed mark appearing on them to show their soulmate is older and clearly marking their condition as something out of the ordinary, not just their mate being born late. This condition also causes the soulmate that has the condition to feel their mark move. It has been compared to feeling something moving across or under your skin and can cause pain or comfort depending upon what the mark is. This condition is untreatable and it is hard for these mates to meet due to assumed age gaps and many other difficulties that go along with this condition.

            Those with this condition have often faced mistreatment already due to the initial assumed marklessness and now face even more harassment for having such an unusual mark. On top of the increased amount of stress these people face they also have to deal with the constant pain and sensation of their mark which can lead to increased strain on the person’s body. There are medications to help ease the sensations but it is largely untreatable and many medications dull most of the body’s nerves which could be dangerous so the medications often go unused. This condition is incredibly rare.

            So when Eren’s mark appeared, it was a complete shock and Eren had no idea what was happening. He had been playing outside with his friend Armin when he felt a sudden rush of pain move up his back so he had yelled and screamed until his mother came rushing out. She had scooped him up and asked him what was wrong and he told her in a shaky voice that his back felt weird so she pulled up his shirt. She had nearly dropped him to the ground in shock at what she found there but his loud whines got her moving quickly towards the house making sure Armin was following behind. Armin lived right next door so he ran home to his grandpa when Carla asked him quietly not letting her panic show so she didn’t scare the kids. Once she knew Armin made it inside his home she rushed back to Eren’s side and pulled him inside the house. She sat Eren down on the sofa and picked up her phone to call the doctor making sure to speak in hushed tones so Eren wouldn’t hear the worry in her voice. Eren sat in a confused state on the sofa not sure what his mother was so worried about and why his back was feeling so weird.

            Carla spoke on the phone for a while and Eren couldn’t tell what she was talking about or with who but his back still felt weird so he started complaining. He wanted his mommy to help make his back feel better and he was confused as to why she wasn’t paying attention to him so he decided to be quiet again and wait. Once Carla had gotten off the phone she immediately swept Eren up into a hug and spoke softly and sweetly to him, “Eren, we need to go visit the doctor now. He’ll make your back feel better I promise.” She said and reluctantly let him go.  She grabbed her keys and walked out front of the house to the car clinging tightly to Eren’s hand the whole way.

            Eren’s nose scrunched up and he pouted up at his mother as she opened the car door and shuffled him into the back seat. “I don’t like the doctor mommy!” He complained loudly as he buckled himself into the car seat knowing even if he didn’t like it he would still go with his mommy.

            She hopped into the driver’s seat and gave Eren a weak smile in the review mirror. “I know but he can help you with your back Eren.” She said in a soft worried tone. She knew the boy wouldn’t like this but she didn’t know how to help him at home so going to the doctors was the best option. She pulled out of the driveway and was off towards the doctor’s office in no time.

            Eren whimpered from the back seat another flare of pain shooting up his back before he nodded at his mom’s words. “Okay… Mommy what’s wrong with my back?” He asked quietly now realizing something really must be wrong if his mom was worried and was making him go to the doctor so quick.  

            Carla sighed and gripped the steering wheel tighter as she tried to come up with something would get the boy to calm down. She took a moment to respond but remembered something she was sure would work. “Eren, remember how mommy tells you stories about your soulmate and how they just haven’t shown up yet and that one day you’ll meet them even if you don’t have a mark?” She said softly and smiled at him reassuringly. She knew this work as she told the boy stories about his own soulmate nearly every night so he wouldn’t get distressed over not having a mark. She was used to telling the stories with an ache in her chest knowing that no matter what she told the boy she couldn’t make his mark appear and give him a soulmate no matter how much she wanted too. But now she brought up the stories because she knew now there was a chance maybe they’d come true.

            Eren instantly brightened up at hearing his mother mention his soulmate. He tilted his head and looked up at his mom curiously. “Is my Mark gonna show up now? Am I gonna have a soulmate?” He asked genuinely curious if this what it felt like to have a mark and someone who was special made just for you.

            Carla smiled softly and pulled into the parking lot at the doctor’s office. “I’m not sure sweetie but the doctor will know so why don’t we go inside and ask him?” She said hoping this was help her get the boy inside the office without him getting upset again. It seemed to work as Eren cheered in the back seat eager to know more forgetting his earlier stress and pain. He unbuckled himself and hopped out of the car as his mom got out as well and took his hand in hers. “Let’s go.” She said and pulled Eren along with her into the building.

            As soon as they stepped inside Eren’s doctor was waiting for them already having gone through what Carla had told him over the phone and considered the possible causes of Eren’s sudden change in condition. Carla smiled weakly at the doctor and Eren stayed tucked against her legs quickly losing any excitement he had. His back still felt weird and he wanted to know if it was his Mark but he had never liked the doctor since he always told Eren he had no Mark. He was scared he still wouldn’t have his Mark even after all the fuss and pain he dealt with and was still trying to get used to. Carla ran a hand through his hair and greeted the doctor talking quietly with him as they moved down the hallway to a private room where Eren could be seen by the doctor alone.

            Once they reached the room Carla helped Eren to pull his shirt off and quietly reassured him as the doctor looked over Eren’s back with a hint of concern.

            The once clear markless skin of Eren’s back was now entirely cover in a massive Mark. At the base of his back there was a thick patch of roses with thorny vines weaving in and out of the flowers. A few of the roses were pure white and fully bloomed and a few white rose buds were around the edges of the bush. There were also many red roses that seemed to be more tangled in the thorny vines. It almost looked like the roses were bleeding as some of the red appeared to be dripping down and coloring some of the white roses. This took up most of the bottom half of his back now and the top half of his back was a set of wings. The two wings seemed to be coming out of his back just inside of his shoulder blades and the wings were both black and looked tattered and torn up. Some patches of the wings seemed soft and clean and the further down the wings you got the closer it got to the roses eventually disappearing behind the roses. The wings seemed to get more tattered the closer they were to the roses and there were spots of feathers missing like the vines had been pulling them and pricking the wings but the wings looked okay other than that. The wings were clearly twitching and moving and ruffling like a real set of wings would and the vines seemed to be moving and slithering around the roses constantly.

            The doctor watched silently for a while assessing the mark for any imperfections or possibly dangerous coloring. Once he deemed the mark completely healthy and normal looking he took a step back and clapped his hands together. He sat down on his chair and rolled it in front of Eren leaning forward and smiling at the young boy. He turned and looked at Eren’s mom for a moment trying to show the clearly distressed mother that he wasn’t worried so she shouldn’t be. She visibly relaxed in her chair and sighed heavily. The doctor turned back to face Eren who looked uncomfortable and slightly in pain. “Hey there Eren.” He said getting the boys attention. This was going to be a big shock to the boy but there was no good way to tell him. Eren had sat up straighter when the doctor addressed him. He didn’t want to talk, feeling too nervous, so he stayed quiet and waited for the doctor to say something. The doctor spoke slow and clear so Eren would understand. “Eren your Mark has finally appeared and it is very special. Your Mark is different from other normal Marks and we need to test to see just how different it is. I promise there won’t be much I just need to ask you and your mom some questions.” He said and leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees and waiting to see Eren’s reaction.

            Eren frowned at the doctor’s words. He knew his mark was special since it was late but he wasn’t sure how different it could possibly be especially since he had never heard of anyone having a special mark before. Eren nodded slowly and looked up at the doctor more directly wanting to ask his own questions first he spoke up quietly. “Is my Mark supposed to feel funny?” He asked and wiggled where he sat not sure if he was allowed to speak up but he really wanted answers.

            The doctor pulled out his clipboard to note down what he was observing from Eren. “What do you mean feel funny Eren?” He said avoiding answering Eren’s questions not wanting Eren to get freaked out that his Mark was doing things it shouldn’t have been doing. Carla sat back, not sure if she could help in any way and not wanting to get in the way of the doctor finding out what was wrong and why her sons mark was like that.

            Eren squirmed again in his seat and seemed to flounder with words for a minute or two before speaking again. “It feels like there’s something moving around on my back and it feels like its pinching me sometimes and it hurts.” He started whining more towards the end of the sentence wanting to complain and get his point across that he didn’t like it and it wasn’t pleasant.

            The doctor jotted some notes down. He was almost sure of what was happening with Eren now since the symptoms were so unique it was easy to spot a case of it no matter how rare it was. He leaned back in his chair and hummed in thought before looking back up from his notes. He stood from his seat causing Eren to wiggle nervously in his seat and Carla to stand as well her worry rising back up. “Doctor may I speak with you in the hallway?” she asks as she stand next to Eren where he sits and runs a hand through his hair.

            The doctor nods in agreement and steps out into the hallway. Carla leaves Eren’s side with a kiss to the head and a soft reassurance that nothing is wrong the adults just need to talk alone. Eren doesn’t believe her but he nods and scoots back some so he can sit more comfortably. Carla steps out into the hallway as well and closes the door behind her so Eren won’t hear anything.

            Eren waited in the quiet room alone wondering what they could be talking about. Maybe they were talking about finding his mate or maybe how they’d find a mirror so he could finally see his mark. He sat and focused on the feeling on his back wondering why he could feel it move around when his mom told him he wouldn’t feel it. He was thinking now maybe his Mark was extra special. Maybe it had some super power to call his mate closer to him or maybe his soulmate could feel his mark move as well. Eren quietly wondered as his mother tried to keep herself together outside the room.

            The doctor was explaining Eren’s condition and what they could expect to face in the future with feeling the mark and any possible treatments that may arise. He explained that they could tell Eren’s mate must be only a few years older than him and that his mate would be expecting him to be much younger and that his mate had gone markless for much longer than Eren had. Carla took in as much information as possible so she could help and keep her baby safe. The doctor had covered most everything he could think of and gave Carla a few websites to look into for any more information she may possibly need.

            The two adults stepped back into the room when Carla had composed herself and felt strong enough to go back in the room and help explain things to Eren.

            Eren sat up quickly when his mom came back in with the doctor. He wanted to know what was going on now that he’d had sufficient enough time to imagine up all sorts of things. The doctor sat down with Carla and they both started to explain to Eren in a more kid friendly way about his Mark. They explained how special and different it was and how his mate would be older and had gone through the same things he had except a little different. They explained to him how his mark would always be bigger than the other kids his age because it was special and how they wouldn’t feel their marks like he did. They tried to explain it to him in a positive light so he wouldn’t be scared of his mark always causing him pain or always causing discomfort. They finished off by telling him that he would be able to find his soul mate and decided to show him his mark in a mirror so he wouldn’t start asking questions right away.

            Eren was so amazed at all the information he was being told about his mark. He never thought he’d have a mark and now that he has one so special he was really excited to see it. The doctor pulled out a mirror so Eren could look at the reflection of his back in the mirror on the wall.

            When he saw his mark for the first time he squealed excitedly and jumped up and down but stilled immediately so he could see it clearer. He tilted his head and took a minute to just watch it quietly. It looked dark and sad and that made him frown because he knew marks looked like what their soulmates were dealing with and he didn’t want his soulmate to be sad. He smiled again though when it moved and he felt finally matching the feeling of movement to the wings on his back.

            Carla and the doctor allowed him to stare for a while before having him sit back down. Eren pulled his shirt back on and bounced happily in his seat now feeling more comfortable with the movement on his back that had been irritating him so much.

            It wasn’t long after that Carla took Eren and they headed home to wait for Eren’s father to tell him about his Mark. Eren was excited but his mother was more nervous than anything. Eren’s father had taken the news that their son was markless very poorly and had struggled to accept their own son. He often used work as a doctor in the hospital as an excuse to stay away from the home as long as possible and would go missing for days on end sometimes without a word. Carla was afraid he’d have an even worse reaction to the fact that his son had such a rare mark now and that the shock of it could lead to him taking rash actions. But Eren did not notice his mom’s nervousness and did not understand that his father may not accept him. He ran around the house playing happily and shouting and cheering about how his mark was the best and most special in the world.

            The front door slammed open and Carla jumped at the sound. She took her time and picked up Eren taking him upstairs into his room. Eren was getting tired of the adults needing to talk without him today but his mom set him down with some of his favorite toys and a movie which made him much happier. She left the room and quickly went downstairs to hopefully peacefully explain to Girsha what was happening to his son.

            Eren didn’t hear anything for a while and figured he should keep playing upstairs but he got bored quickly so he decided to sneak out onto the stair well and try and listen to their conversation. He quietly opened his door and walked down the hallway and down the first few steps being careful to avoid the stairs that creaked.

            He peeked into the living room where he could see both his parents sitting there. He was shocked to find his mommy was crying and his dad looked angry. He wondered if it was his fault they were both so upset. He didn’t have much to think about that though because his mother was saying something too soft to hear that seemed to make his father even more angry. He flinched back when his dad started yelling and ran back to his room regretting his choice to eavesdrop even if he hadn’t heard what they said.

            It kept going nearly all night. Once the yelling started Eren could hear it from his room and it didn’t seem to stop. He heard his dad a lot more than he heard his mom and he was getting scared. He picked up on some of the things his dad was saying and none of them were nice. Sometimes they were directed at his mom and sounded like he was blaming her for how Eren had turned out. Other times it was him calling Eren names making it sound like he was an unlovable freak. Eren stayed quiet but he curled up in his bed and cried his heart out. He didn’t understand why his dad didn’t like him. He didn’t know why his dad would think he was ugly for having a mark.

            The fight truly did last a few hours and ended when Girsha left the house slamming the door behind himself.

            After the door slammed Eren shakily crawled out of his bed and made his way downstairs slowly. He could hear his mommy crying and he really wanted to comfort her and himself. He got all the way downstairs and walked into the living room and found his mom curled up on the sofa trying to hold back loud sobs. “M-mommy?” He said quietly as he stood in front of her.

            Carla immediately looked up and cursed softly. She sat up more and opened up her arms so Eren could crawl into her lap and that’s exactly what he did. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him close to her chest as she curled back up around Eren. “Hi baby… mommy is so sorry about this. I didn’t want you to hear that...” She says softly and honestly trailing off at the end of her sentence. She wasn’t sure what all the little boy had heard but it looked like he’d been crying which meant he had heard some of it.

            “Daddy doesn’t like my mark?” He asked quietly as his bottom lip trembled and tears rose in his eyes again spilling down his bright red cheeks. Carla’s heart broke a little more hearing him ask that. She at least knew a little of what he’s heard now and she wasn’t sure what to say to him. His mother’s silence and clearly distressed expression set Eren off into a loud sob. He wailed and cried and scrunched himself up against his mommy. He just knew somehow that his daddy didn’t like him and he was so confused and hurt because he didn’t understand.

            Carla just held him tight and let herself cry with her son. She was expecting a bad response but nothing near as bad as it was. She had no way to assure her son that his father still accepted him because it would be lies. Girsha had been clear about his distaste for Eren but she wished Eren hadn’t heard because she didn’t want him to be hurt. She figured it was easier that he had heard in the end though. There would have been no good way to tell Eren that his father now hated him just because of his mark, which was something that was meant to be celebrated. She just held him tight and cried with him knowing she’d eventually have to tell the boy why his father didn’t like him.

            It was a long night after that. Carla took the time to explain as best she could that Girsha was just shocked and he didn’t mean all the things he had said. She tried to explain that he would eventually change his mind and come around and Eren could show him his mark and he’d be happy about it. She said all this hoping it was true and not sure any of it was. Eren had a hard time believing her because he could tell him mommy was just as upset as he was. He had to believe her though. She was his mommy and she had never lied before so he tried to believe.

            They both slept in Eren’s bed that night. Despite the tight fit both of them were comfortable to stay squished up together as they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Eren's side of the story! I hope you like it! Please comment it makes my day!!


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